CorpComms Magazine

Multinational corporation Unilever has been rated most sustainable food company by UK-based sustainability consultancy Two Tomorrows.

The Tomorrow's Value Rating assesses companies on how well they manage pressing social and environmental issues.

Company performance is rated in five key areas: strategy, quality of top-level governance, stakeholder engagement, value chain - which follows the life cycle of products, and innovation and leadership.

Thomas Krick, global manager of the Tomorrow's Value Rating, said of Unilever: 'The company has demonstrated leadership by co-founding initiatives such as the Marine Stewardship Council and the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil; it was an early supporter of fairtrade, and started rolling out nutritional labeling practices before most of its competitors.'

Confectionary company Nestlé has also attracted praise for the best approach to supply-chain management, with the company purchasing most of its dairy, coffee and cocoa directly from more than 660,000 suppliers, and working with partners like the Rainforest Alliance and national authorities to improve farmers' use of water resources and increase access to clean water and sanitation.

With consumers' social and environmental concerns influencing purchasing decisions, and the knowledge that climate change and water scarcity will affect the security of supplies, there are powerful incentives for companies to promote sustainable practices.

However, a few areas are still lagging. Food additives remain a complex area for global companies, working across different regulatory environments and addressing conflicting priorities like the longevity of products and health concerns. Whilst stakeholder engagement is also a split issue, with dramatic improvements in engagement with local communities, farmers and consumers offset by a lack of solid discussion with investors, retailers, regulators and trade unions. 

Tomorrow's Value's Top Five:

Unilever - 64 per cent

Nestlé - 59 per cent

Danone - 58 per cent

PepsiCo - 51 per cent

Coca Cola - 49 per cent

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